Legality of Off-shore Internet Gambling [Law Student Paper]

University of Toronto law student Michael G. Cohen has posted his paper "Pocket ace's: A comprehensive look at the legality of off-shore Internet gambling within the USA" (2005, May) on the Fantasy Sports Trades web site. Based on my quick scan of the paper and the posted comments that it is getting from authorities on the topic (e.g., I. Nelson Rose), it's worth a read.

Economic Analysis / Counter-analysis of Michigan Casino

The web page "Economic Impacts of a Proposed Casino Development: Allegan County, Michigan" by the Anderson Economic Group (East Lansing, Michigan) provides an example of the problems associated with commissioned economic impact studies casinos... studies and counter-analyses attempting to refute one another. The order of reports as far as I can tell:

1) Critical Review: Gun Lake Band of Potawatomi Indians Environmental Impact Study; Economic and Community Impact Analysis (2003) -- by Anderson Economic Group and commissioned by the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce. It is a review of the study “Updated Economic and Community Impact Analysis: Allegan County Native American Casino, October 2002.” by the firm Michigan Consultants.

2) Market and Economic Impacts of a Tribal Casino in Wayland Township, Michigan (2003) -- by Anderson Economic Group and commissioned by the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce. It provides an assessment of the impact that a proposed tribal casino in Wayland Township would have on Michigan’s economy.

3) A Critique of Market and Economic Impacts of a Tribal Casino in Wayland Township, Michigan by the The Anderson Economic Group (2004) by Jonathan B. Taylor and commissioned by casino proponents. "This document analyzes the AEG methods and prediction, and it concludes that AEG’s report is too badly flawed to be the basis for policy action."

4) A Response to "A Critique of Market and Economic Impacts of a Tribal Casino in Wayland Township, Michigan by Anderson Economic Group" (2005).

A Visit to Montana [Web Resources]

A couple weeks ago I had a chance to visit the beautiful State of Montana. While there, I couldn't help but notice the ubiquitous advertising for casinos, poker, and other gambling opportunities. Most of the casinos are very small but they're everywhere. The following few web pages provide a flavour:

• Montana Gambling: Hold it or Fold it?
• Gas! Food! Gambling! -- (halfway down page) from Roadside America
• How keno was born in Butte, Montana

Gambling Journals - Self-Archiving Policies [Web Page]

Journal article authors might be interested in taking a look at the web page that I've put together about self-archiving. Self-archiving is useful for the general public and other stakeholders as it makes publicly available important research findings via the Internet. It is also potentially valuable for investigators to increase the "impact" of their research.

International Gambling Studies, 5(1) [Journal Issue]

Volume 5 Number 1/June, 2005 of International Gambling Studies is now available to subscribers.

Articles in this issue:

• Gambling Across Cultures: Mapping Worldwide Occurrence and Learning from Ethnographic Comparison by Per Binde
  
• Problem Gambling in Non-English Speaking Background Communities in Queensland, Australia: A Qualitative Exploration by Sue Scull, Geoffrey Woolcock
  
• Explaining the High False Positive Rate of the South Oaks Gambling Screen by Anna Thompson, Michael Walker, Simon Milton, Emma Djukic
  
• Classification of Gamblers According to the NODS and a Clinical Interview by Vicky Murray, Robert Ladouceur, Christian Jacques
  
• The Gambling Environment and Gambler Behaviour: Evidence from Richmond-Tweed, Australia by David Marshall
  
• A Sure Bet: Privatisation of the Victorian TAB by Russell Hoye Public
  
• Awareness of Responsible Gambling and Gambling Behaviours in Ontario by Nigel E. Turner, Jamie Wiebe, Agata Falkowski-Ham, Jon Kelly, Wayne Skinner
  
• Sociodemographic, Psychopathological and Clinical Characteristics of Pathological Slot-Machine Gamblers in Treatment: A Descriptive Study of Spanish Male Gamblers by Ana Fernández-Alba, Francisco J. Labrador
  
• Book Reviews by David Marshall

Lottery Sales at "Lucky" Retailers [working paper]

The NBER working paper "Lucky Stores, Gambling, and Addiction: Empirical Evidence from State Lottery Sales" (2005, April) by Jonathan GuryanMelissa S. Kearney takes a look at mistaken perceptions of randomness and so-called "lucky" lottery retailers.

More OPGRC Research [online reports]

The Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre (OPGRC) has released several more research reports which are posted on their web site. They are:

1) Commercial Gambling Advertising: Possible Impact on Youth Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs and Behavioural Intentions (2005?) by D. Korn.

2) Addressing Problem Gambling in Toronto and Windsor/Essex County Ethnic Communities
(2004, June) by H. Wynne and J. McCready.

National Survey of Gambling Problems in Canada [e-journal article]

The article "A National Survey of Gambling Problems in Canada" from the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry (Vol. 50, Issue 4 - March, 2005) by Brian J. Cox, Nancy Yu, Tracie O. Afifi, & Robert Ladouceur has now appeared online.

Sex offenders on prison gambling [online article]

Gambling is a big thing in prison. That's most guys' hustle (way of making money). Some guys draw, some do tattoos, a lot of guys were building log cabins out of popsicle sticks. They have their hobbies. Every guy has a hustle - some guys wash clothes, some sew, shit like that. Gambling increases when they (Department of Corrections) cut hobbies.
-- "Marvin," a 49-year old Hispanic who had spent nearly a decade in prison.

A May 11, 2005 editorial in the BASIS Online e-journal by DJ Williams is titled "Crime and Addiction Series Part 2 - Sex Offenders on Prison Gambling: Harmful Addiction or Opportunity for Leisure?". This article makes for fascinating reading as Williams provides several quotes from offender-clients on gambling... he also poses a number of questions related to gambling as a leisure activity for prisoners which have yet to be thoroughly researched.

Journal of Gambling Studies, 21(2) [Journal Issue]

Volume 21, Issue 2 (2005, June) of the subscription-only Journal of Gambling Studies is available. Article content includes:

• Structural Characteristics of Video Lotteries: Effects of a Stopping Device on Illusion of Control and Gambling Persistence By Robert Ladouceur and Serge Sévigny
  
• Motivators for Change and Barriers to Help-Seeking in Australian Problem Gamblers By Lyn Evans and Paul H. Delfabbro
  
• Pathological Gambling in Montreal’s Chinese Community: An Anthropological Perspective By Elisabeth Papineau
  
• Genetic Studies of Pathological Gambling: A Review of Methodology and Analyses of Data from the Vietnam Era Twin Registry By Kamini R. Shah, Seth A. Eisen, Hong Xian, et al.
  
• Problem and Probable Pathological Gambling Among Older Adults Assessed by the SOGS-R By Jamie M. D. Wiebe and Brian J. Cox

New issue of eCOMMUNITY [free online journal]

eCOMMUNITY: International Journal of Mental Health & Addiction has just released its new issue (volume 2, issue 2). Articles and book reviews of specific interest from a gambling research perspective include:

• Gambling, Violence and Family Dynamics: Some Intervention Markers (Amnon Jacob Suissa)
  
• A Critical Exploration of Objectivity and Bias in Gambling (and Other) Research(Jennifer Borrell & Jacques Boulet)
  
• Aggressive Behaviour in Adult Slot-Machine Gamblers: A Qualitative Observational Study(Adrian Parke & Mark D. Griffiths)
  
• Young People and Gambling in Britain: A Critique of the DCMS Technical Paper No. 8 (Mark D. Griffiths & Jim Orford)
  
• Book Review: Gambling: Who Wins? Who Loses? (Christine McKay & Henry R. Lesieur)

Gambling Volunteers Required [Research Investigation]

Participate in person or by mail... the University of Calgary is now recruiting volunteers for a series of gambling-related studies. Participation is completely confidential and gift certificates are given.

2005/06 Funding Opportunity [Research Grant Proposal]

The Alberta Gaming Research Institute has recently released its 2005/06 Guidelines & Application Form which details its research grant application process.

Research Reveals, Vol. 4, Issue 4 [Newsletter]

Volume 4, Issue 4 (April-May 2005) of the Alberta Gaming Research Institute's 'Research Reveals...' newsletter features a detailed eight-page summary of presentations from the Institue's 2005 conference.